The Andersons:
Chapter 3
Finally on May 4, 2003, when they were fully paper ready, they received their referral for a tiny, bright eyed baby girl named Inez Pia (name changed). There wasn’t much to go on, other than photos and a medical report.
The baby had been born mere days before – on April 28, 2003. The Andersons said they did not have her information reviewed by an international adoption doctor, but with the baby being so young, what could a doctor really tell them?
Upon seeing Inez Pia’s photos, they were smitten, filled with joy and immediate, overpowering love. At long last Gina was to be a mother to a baby girl. She wished she could fly down to Guatemala and take the baby home right then and there.
Andrew and Gina chose to the name “Audrey Pearl Anderson” for baby Inez.
Her referral was immediately accepted and more forwarded to BBAS. $1,000 for the Child Identification Fee, the non refundable $500 “Dossier Fee” and a jaw dropping $11,000. $2,000 of this non refundable $11,000 was for “legal fees to be paid upon the ‘acquisition of a referral’” and the remainder - $9,000 – “upon acceptance of referral.”
BBAS had $12,650 of the Andersons money, most of it NON REFUNDABLE. A remaining $9,000 was to be paid upon completion of the adoption in Guatemala.
There is one glaring, ravenous money pit in BBAS Guatemalan contract regarding foster care. As most people know, Guatemalan babies are placed into Foster Care. It may be the reason Denise says a BBAS Guatemalan adoption can be completed within four to six months. Most foster care in Guatemala is handled by women earning pittances. One source we spoke with said some agencies charge $100 a month for foster care. BBAS charges an obscene $450 a month. Here is the paragraph in the contract which sucks the funds from a family’s wallet dry if the child isn’t home within four months:
The nature of the Guatemalan adoption process requires that THE ADOPTIVE PARENT(S) pay for foster care for the identified child. The foreign source fee above referenced [$18,000] covers the first four months of care. Each additional month must be paid in advance by THE ADOTIVE PARENT(S) at a cost of $450 per month.
Don’t think it bothers Denise Hubbard and Rick Marco that $450/month is a stiff fee. Don’t think Denise Hubbard offers her families a discount or waives it after four months. She doesn’t and won’t. When the adoption goes past four months (and many do), it adds thousands to the cost of the adoption.
We know of one family who was charged this $450 fee. When they didn’t pay, they received a bill for $2,000. Denise reminded them their contract said they had to pay it after four months. They paid it.
When it came time to pick up their child, Denise held the family’s adoption up until she received the final $9,000 and another $450 for their child’s last month of foster care. Denise didn’t process their paperwork for two weeks until she received the $9,450.
Isn’t running an adoption agency the best legal scam going in the United States? Especially adoption agencies run by unqualified former office cleaners, police dispatchers, clerical hospital workers and “adoptive moms.”
Gina and Andrew prepared their baby girl’s room with a Raggedy Ann theme, complete with a Raggedy Ann mobile to hang over the crib. A shower was held for Gina and the baby in July 2003 in anticipation of her arrival. Audrey’s arrival, alas, would not be in August or September 2003. It would be a year later in August 2004. At which time Audrey would be able to walk and sleep in a bed, not a crib